MAG in Gaza: an update
Since a fragile ceasefire was agreed in Gaza, MAG’s emergency response teams, through our local partner Save Youth Future Society, have been doing everything possible to deliver life-saving information to people returning home. Every message shared could save a life.
We need to act as urgently as possible, while we have the mobility to do so. Please, if you haven’t already, donate today. There are still so many people we must reach.
Your donation could help teach children and families how to recognise and avoid unexploded bombs hidden in the rubble of their communities.
Our colleague Najat, who leads community risk education sessions in Gaza, described what she’s seeing on the ground:
“Since people started returning to the north of Gaza, everyone wants to listen and learn more about explosive hazards. Even when they’re tired or in a rush, families stop to ask what to do if they find something strange. That shows how important our work is right now.”
Since 9 October, teams have delivered life-saving risk education to 37,238 people, including 7,047 children, who are among those at highest risk due to their natural curiosity.
Teams are reaching returnees along key roads and entry points back into northern areas of Gaza, delivering emergency sessions and distributing brochures with lifesaving information.
One Palestinian returnee shared: “When I saw the team on the road handing out brochures and talking to people, I felt safer. It’s good to remind people of the danger, especially after seeing others injured by unexploded bombs recently.”
The scale of explosive contamination in Gaza is likely to be among the worst we have seen anywhere in the world. Hidden within an estimated sixty-one million tonnes of debris are vast quantities of unexploded weapons including air-dropped bombs, shells, and rockets which pose a profound risk to families and communities. Unexploded air-dropped bombs are of particular concern due to their size and potential to cause mass-casualties if disturbed.
And yet, so many people returning home are unaware of the dangers which lie in the rubble which was once their homes, schools and hospitals. Your donation today can help people in Gaza and around the world to receive essential, lifesaving information keeping their families safe while they undertake the difficult process of rebuilding their communities.
The situation in Gaza remains unstable, and the ceasefire is fragile. But MAG’s work delivering risk education is a critical first step to help families stay as safe as possible as they begin to return and rebuild their lives.
